Portable Network Graphics

PNG – is a scan-line graphic format developed as an alternative to GIF, which had a commercial license. It is based on the best features of the predecessor, including lossless compression and transparent background support. The PNG technology ensures the preservation of all stages of editing and the restoration of the step with the preservation of quality. However, it does not allow to save several pictures in one file at once, which limits its use in the development of animated images.

Technical details

The PNG extension was proposed as a tool that helps to transfer and store images on the World Wide Web. The technology is limited to an 8-bit transparency channel, so you can adjust the colors from opaque to transparent. It supports 24-bit RGB colors, matching images and shades of gray. However, as a non-professional format, PNG can not display other color spaces. Most programs allow to open such files, they can also run in any browser. Images are different in small weight with good quality.